


Here To Stay

by Maeve_of_Winter



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Insecurity, M/M, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-12 12:49:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11737401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maeve_of_Winter/pseuds/Maeve_of_Winter
Summary: Most people are surprised at the unlikely couple of Kevin and Jughead, and due to that, Jughead can't ignore all of his own insecurities at their relationship.





	Here To Stay

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alliterate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alliterate/gifts).



Jughead Jones considered himself to be a simple person. He enjoyed eating and sleeping. He was satisfied with basic rather than fancy, and his ideal summer vacation was lounging in the hammock in his backyard rather than jetting off to some exotic locale.

So he wasn’t very surprised when other people were surprised that he was dating Kevin.

Most people were surprised that Kevin bothered with him, but their astonishment didn’t bother Jughead. He knew he and Kevin were an unlikely couple. Even Jughead’s own parents had been shocked (and then ecstatic) that the two of them were a couple.

“You and Kevin Keller?” His father had repeated in amazement. He had always been impressed by the Kellers, who lived just up the street from them, in the biggest and fanciest house in the neighborhood. “Track star Kevin Keller? Archery champion Kevin Keller? Class president Kevin Keller?”

“Student body president Kevin Keller,” Jughead corrected, buttering his toast as his parents stared at him, utterly astounded. “Somehow he found a loophole and took over the school. Resourceful, isn’t he?”

“He’s wonderful,” Mrs. Jones replied, recovering and giving her son a smile. “I’ve always liked how good he is with Jellybean and his own sisters. Won’t you have him over for dinner?”

“Have his whole family over for dinner!” Mr. Jones enthused. “Jug, you’ll need to start spending more time with Kevin. Why don’t  _ you _ join student government? Or the community service club Kevin runs? And isn’t he part of the junior engineering league? You should look into that, too.” For years, Mr. Jones had been trying to convince Jughead to become more involved in his school as he had been as a teen.

Naturally, Veronica, one of Kevin’s best friends, was less than thrilled with the relationship.  However, even with the animosity between herself and Jughead, he still managed to obtain her blessing, reluctant as it was.

“I suppose, speaking from a statistical standpoint, Kevin could do worse than you,” she admitted grudgingly to Jughead. “And, well, historically he has.”

“Yeah, like Jason Blossom,” Reggie added. When Jughead had become Kevin’s boyfriend, Reggie had immediately claimed the status of Kevin’s new best friend. “Though that one motorcycle guy wasn’t that bad . . .”

“Ugh, that awful Nick St. Clair?” Veronica scowled. “He treated Kevin  _ horribly _ . I was ecstatic when he was shipped off to military school.”  

“He was still a step up from Jason Blossom and his negging Kevin into a relationship,” Reggie said adamantly.

“In all honestly, I think the stuff Jason did to him bordered on outright manipulation,” Jughead contributed, feeling a familiar rush of dislike for that particular scumbag ex of Kevin’s.

“But I was thinking of Joaquin. He was all right, and his motorcycle was totally badass. Too bad he moved away for college.” Reggie clapped Jughead on the shoulder. “Well, you’ll never be Joaquin, and normally Kevin would be way out of your league, but you get bonus points for being a comparative improvement from the usual type of lowlife grifter he dates. So, all the happiness in the world to you two.”

But still others were surprised that someone like Jughead wanted to be with someone like Kevin.

“No offense, but what do you see in him?” Archie asked.

School was finished for the day, and they were getting burgers at Pop’s together.

“Mmm?” Jughead managed through a mouthful of food. He swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he just doesn’t seem like the type of person you’d be drawn to,” Archie observed. “You’re a guy whose favorite pastimes include eating and sleep, and the main reason you never really dated before is because you didn’t want the trouble of dealing with another person’s expectations. Meanwhile, Kevin has lived all over the world, is part of a billion different activities at school, is probably plotting to take over Riverdale as we speak, and his dating history is . . . well . . .” Archie shrugged uncomfortably, clearly struggling for the right term.

“Complicated?” Jughead suggested.

“Full of douchebags, honestly,” Archie returned frankly.

“I didn’t think Joaquin was at all bad,” Jughead contended, determined to be fair. Joaquin DeSantos had been the only one of Kevin’s long line of ex-boyfriends who wasn’t a total prick. Not that Jughead was biased, of course. “But as far as the others are concerned, your description is wholly accurate.”

“Yeah. So, what is it that made you decide to go for Kevin?” Archie asked curiously. “It just seems like with all that, he would seem too high maintenance for you.”

It was a difficult question to answer, because Archie was right: typically, Jughead wouldn’t go for anyone. But to him, Kevin was like a sunny spring day, one of the first really nice ones after a long winter, one that Jughead could spend all day basking in the warmth and light. His golden hair was like the sun, and his smile matched, and his bright blue eyes reminded Jughead of the sky. Every time Jughead saw him, it was like waking up to one of those rare mornings that was so gorgeous he’d rather be awake than asleep.

And then there was Kevin himself, full of energy, full of life, ready to take on any challenge or tackle any task that needed completion. There was passion to everything he did, from planning the student government fundraiser to talking about comic books,

“He makes me feel good to be around,” Jughead replied simply.

“Well, hey, that’s always a good thing.” Archie clapped Jughead on the shoulder and raised his glass. “Let’s have a toast, huh? To you and Kevin. Hope you guys always have cool comics to talk about.”

“And may Reggie and Veronica always keep their meddling away from him and me,” Jughead added.

They clinked their glasses together and proceeded to drink deeply from their milkshakes.

* * *

If there was anyone who simply accepted Kevin and Jughead’s relationship without comment about the unlikeliness of the couple or surprise that either one of them would ever be drawn to the other, it was the Keller family. Patty and Denise, Kevin’s two younger sisters seemed to take to Jughead easily, viewing him as another brother ready for teasing. Colonel and Mrs. Keller were very welcoming as well, graciously offering him a standing invitation to Sunday dinner. His parents, with their admiration for the Kellers, were almost, but not quite more thrilled about the invitation than Jughead was, and he faithfully attended the dinner every week, usually touting along some sort of contribution of side dish or dessert at their insistence.

That Sunday, Jughead not only brought a box of pastries, but also the collection of  _ Teen Titans _ comics from the Marv Wolfman and George Perez era that Kevin had lent to him the week prior.

“Thanks for letting me borrow them. The writing was great. It really felt like the characters knew each other,” Jughead enthused. “It felt like how people who are on a team together might actually talk to each other.”

“If you liked these ones, you’d probably also like  _ Justice League International _ ,” Kevin told him warmly. “I have the first few volumes. Let’s go up to my room, and I can dig them out for you.”

Kevin’s room was at the end of the second floor hallway. As Kevin explained, the Keller siblings had the floor to themselves, with their parents occupying the third floor, in an attempt to make use of all the extra space in their house.

Jughead let out a low whistle as he walked into Kevin’s room. “Nice place.”

He’d never been to Kevin’s room before—usually, Kevin was too busy with everything else in his life to lounge around the house. And while Jughead was satisfied with merely shades on the windows to block out the morning sun and a comfortable bed, he had to admit Kevin’s room looked pretty classy. The tidy room was large and two-tiered, with a main floor and then a brief curving staircase that led to a loft area that held the bed. The ceiling was high and vaulted, with exposed wooden beams, and the numerous windows were beveled trios with stained glass detailing around the sides and corners. The reddish-brown hardwood floor, somewhat covered by plush area rugs, gleamed with polish, and overall the space looked sophisticated and appealing.

“Thanks,” Kevin replied good-naturedly. “The room mostly came like this, though. I only added a couple of carpets and then built the gun case.” He jerked his thumb at the glass and oak cabinet that held several well-maintained rifles. “They’re antiques—I got them from my great uncle. Since I can’t fire ‘em, I thought they’d go nice with the chandelier.”

Jughead squinted up at the light fixture. “Is that made out of antlers?” He’d heard Veronica and Reggie moaning that Kevin’s taste ran a bit redneck, but he’d assumed they were referring to yet more of Kevin’s boyfriends, or perhaps his sense of fashion which apparently began and ended at flannel, jeans, and workboots.

“Isn’t it cool? I like to pretend I built it myself from the bones of my enemies.” Kevin went straight to a stack of three large boxes of still piled beside the mostly empty floor-to-ceiling bookcase that sat next to the desk. “I have most of my books here. Just give me a couple of minutes to find those comics for you.”

“You still haven’t unpacked all your stuff?” Jughead asked curiously, idly plucking a  _ Superman  _ omnibus up from the bookshelf, one of the few items present. “You’ve been here for more than four months, now.”

“I know my family’s staying in Riverdale for good, but honestly, I can’t quite believe we won’t be moving again,” Kevin admitted, unstacking the boxes to reach the one at the bottom. “I think I put my comics in this one. Let me check.”

Flipping through the omnibus, Jughead couldn’t help but notice color-coded post-its notes decorating many of the pages, marking either speech bubbles or dialogue boxes. Yellow ones, labelled “community service speech” had been added several pages with Lois Lane; blue ones, labelled “class president speech” were present on numerous pages that featured either Clark Kent or Superman; and green ones, labelled “student body president speech” filled nearly every page with Lex Luthor.

Huh. So that was where Kevin’s inspiration to trawl through the rulebooks and maneuver through loopholes came from.

Replacing the book on the shelf, Jughead wandered over to the desk as Kevin continued to rummage. Naturally, the surface of the desk was perfectly arranged, with a sleek laptop, personalized stationery bearing Kevin’s presidential crest, and all of the typical office supplies immaculately organized in a desk caddy.

However, the desk sat before a window, and Jughead curiously observed several of the items occupying its ledge, wondering how his boyfriend had acquired them.

“What’s this?” he asked, holding up a figurine of a smiling black cat that wore a red collar with a gold charm. Both of its fronts paws were up, and a fish dangled from the left paw, as if the ceramic feline were offering it to him.

“Hmm?” Kevin glanced up from where he was removing books from the box and carefully placing them on the floor. “Oh, that’s a  _ maneki-neko,  _ AKA a welcoming cat. It’s symbol of good luck in Japan. We lived there for a couple months, and a family we were friends with gave it to me just before we left to move to England.” He grinned. “Giving gifts is a huge part of the culture in Japan, and it’s very common to give candy or other food. You’d like it there.”

“Is that why the cat is holding out a fish? For a gift?” Jughead guessed.

“In a way. The carp represents determination and courage, but it also means abundance and good fortune,” Kevin explained. “You can see that the cat is happy about catching a big fish, and the hope is that the owner of the  _ maneki-neko _ will be able to experience that same happiness. But the color of these cat statues is important to the owner, too, as well as the position of its paws. This is one is black, for safety and to ward off evil spirits, and both its paws being raised is supposed to bring protection.”

“Huh.” Setting the little cat down, Jughead studied the other objects. One seemed, to his untrained eye, to be a miniature replica of a traditional Japanese building, while the other was a flat, colorful pouch that was smaller than his hand. “Are these good luck symbols, too?”

Kevin finished with the one box and moved onto the remaining two. “The little cloth bag is. It’s an  _ omamori _ . They’re religious amulets sold in sacred areas, and meant to guide and protect the owner.” He pointed at the building miniature. “And that’s the Shinto shrine where I purchased it from—oh, finally! Here it is!” He held up the  _ Justice League International _ volumes in victory.

“Thanks,” Jughead told him, weaving through the piles of books to take the comics from his boyfriend. On the way, though, he spotted a familiar title. “Oh, hey, I remember these!” He exclaimed, picking up one of the entries in  _ The Three Investigators _ series entitled  _ The Mystery of the Screaming Clock _ . “My favorite was the one with the crooked cat.” He glanced down at the pile to see if any other of the books in the series were there, and was surprised to find that the next book appeared to be written in a different language. “What’s this?”

“That’s part of the German  _ The Three Investigators _ books, or as they call them,  _ Die drei Fragezeichen _ . The series was so popular in Germany that it continued to be published with new books even when it ended in the US,” Kevin told him.

“You can read German?” Jughead asked, impressed.

Kevin laughed. “I should hope so. We lived in Bavaria for nearly a year.”

“That’s really cool,” Jughead told him, even as a sliver of doubt ran through him as he was forcibly reminded of Reggie’s words about Kevin being out of his league. Kevin was incredibly worldly and well-traveled, not to mention intensely ambitious, and Jughead himself was none of those things. Maybe he wasn’t the right guy for Kevin, after all.

The insecurity was only reinforced when he picked up another book, this one on motorcycles, and opened it, finding an inscription on the front cover:  _ To Kevin, Love Joaquin _ . He quickly snapped the book shut.

“I guess,” Kevin replied with a shrug. “Living internationally was what I preferred, because then we tended to stay in one place longer. When we were in the US, I could come home from school any day and find out we were packing up and leaving. Once I had three different schools in as many months.” Abruptly, he changed the subject, as though uncomfortable with the topic of discussion. “Mind if we head downstairs? I promised my dad I’d help him with the grill.” He sent a brilliant smile at Jughead. “I figured you’d be a fan of burgers made over charcoal?”

Trying his best to push away his insecurities, Jughead smiled at him. “ ‘Fan’? Kev, I’m a fanatic when it comes to burgers.”

Once downstairs, though, it was Jughead who wound up going to the grill, while Kevin was sent to retrieve his younger sister.

“Kevin, would you please go fetch Patty?” Mrs. Keller requested. “She’s just around the block at the Lopez house, playing with Eliza and Teresa.”

“Right away,” Kevin told her. “I need to drop off some archery club paperwork for Ginger, anyway.” He turned to Jughead, holding a platter of uncooked burgers. “Would you take these outside to my dad, Jug?”

“Of course,” Jughead agreed, and they parted ways, Kevin to the garage to get his truck, and Jughead out to the back patio.

Like the rest of the Keller home, the backyard was extensive and picturesque, with intricate flower beds, trellises for rosebushes, arbors for vines, and a perimeter of pine trees for privacy. A raised, open gazebo decorated with hanging lights and flower baskets stood at the far side of the back patio. Outfitted with a glass table and cushioned lawn chairs, it was where the Kellers dined when they chose to have dinner outdoors. The patio was surrounded by low stone walls, and one of section near the house stood higher than the rest, serving as an kitchen island, complete with a built-in Char-Broil grill. There Jughead found Kevin’s father, tending to the coals.

“Here you are, Colonel,” he said cheerfully, depositing the platter of meats on the marble countertop. “Kevin’s gone to get Patty and should be back in a few minutes.”

“Great. The first batch ought to be done by the time they get back.” Colonel Keller replied, wielding the tongs adeptly and laying the patties across the grill. He glanced at Jughead as he did. “You know, I gotta say that you’re the only one of Kevin’s boyfriends I’ve ever thought was any good for him,” he stated frankly. “Pardon my language, but good God, I’ve always been amazed at the kind of all-around bastards he wasted his time with.”

“I thought Joaquin was all right,” Jughead volunteered in the interest of fairness.

“He was,” Colonel Keller conceded. “But since he was already in college, all Kevin could think about when he was with him was moving away again. Kathy and I brought the family to Riverdale so we could finally settle down, and I wanted Kevin to be able relax and have the security of knowing he’s going to be in one place for a while.”

“That makes sense,” Jughead mused, recalling Kevin’s words about barely being able to believe he was in Riverdale to stay.

“As for the others, Nick St. Clair never once came to dinner or anything else with the family. And that Jason Blossom . . .” A muscle in Colonel Keller’s jaw twitched at the name. “He never bothered to introduce himself to either my wife or I, but considering what I’ve learned about him since Kevin broke up with him, I’m glad he never set foot in our home.”

“He’s a tool,” Jughead agreed.

Colonel Keller scoffed. “He’s the entire Home Depot.” But approval was clear on his face when he looked at Jughead. “But I’ve never seen Kevin happier than when he’s with you.”

Jughead blinked. “You think so?”

“I know so,” Colonel Keller affirmed. “Nick and Jason couldn’t get Kevin away from the house fast enough, and they were always trying to isolate him from everyone else in his life. But you don’t do anything like that. You’re comfortable coming to our home and spending time with the family, and I’ve seen the way you help your parents take care of Jellybean. You step up and take responsibility when needed, and you’re not afraid to have other people depend on you. Kevin recognizes that and knows you’re someone he can trust.”

“I’ve—I’ve never thought of it that way,” Jughead stammered,  floored at all that Kevin apparently saw in him.

His mind raced, thinking back to all the times when he’d either needed to cancel his date with Kevin because he found himself unexpectedly watching Jellybean, or when he’d known well in advance that their only option to hang out was for Kevin to come over to the house while Jughead was baby-sitting. He’d always been apologetic, considering the circumstances an inconvenience to Kevin, who deserved better than getting stuck helping care for a toddler. It was almost surreal to consider that Kevin had not only enjoyed it, but admired Jughead for it and become convinced that the arrangements were a testament to Jughead valuing his family.

“But it makes sense,” Jughead realized aloud. He turned to look at Colonel Keller. “He cares about you and his mom and his sisters a whole bunch. So he’d want to be with someone who cares about all of you, too, and who wants to spend time with you.”

“He wants to be someone who’s willing to come to Sunday dinners every week, and now he is.” Colonel Keller smiled. “You’re not exactly who I would have expected Kevin to date, but out of everyone he’s been involved with, you’re the one who’s been the best for him. And, well . . .” he shrugged. “I realize the two of you are only in high school, but if you were the one Kevin eventually settled down with, I wouldn’t mind all that much.”

“Thanks,” Jughead managed to reply, though he was still surprised that of all people, he’d manage to win the approval of Kevin’s military father.

But his words sparked an idea in Jughead’s mind:  _ settled down _ . It was an idea Kevin himself had admitted out loud he wasn’t quite used to.

Maybe there was a way Jughead could help him with that.

* * *

Out of loyalty to his boyfriend rather any legitimate interest, Jughead had agreed to help out with setting up for the elementary school carnival; through careful maneuvering, Kevin had won leadership of the organizing committee. They arranged to meet after school at Kevin’s house, where Kevin would be returning after track practice to retrieve some supplies for the event.

When Jughead arrived at the home, Mrs. Keller ushered him inside immediately after he rang the bell.

“Kevin’s not home yet,” she explained apologetically. “But feel free to go upstairs and wait in his room.”

“Sounds good,” Jughead replied, hefting the stack of comics he was bringing back to Kevin and heading up the stairs.

As it had been previously, Kevin’s room was neat as a pin; beyond the clothes in the closet, it barely looked like anyone lived there. The cardboard boxes remained by the empty bookshelf, and only the surface of the desk and the window ledge held any type of personal keepsakes.

Well, Jughead would be able to correct that, at least a little bit.

Carrying the comics over to the bookshelf, Jughead set them down and began to empty out the boxes, piling the books on the floor until all of them were out and he was surrounded by them. At that point, he focused on their arrangement, trying to determine how Kevin might like to see them organized. Eventually, he decided to placed the comic books on the bottom shelf, sorted by series and then publisher. Fiction books were placed on two of the upper shelves, and nonfiction just below them. While Jughead wasn’t entirely certain on how to handle the non-English books given that he couldn’t read the titles, he eventually made up his mind to group them together by language and slot them in beneath nonfiction.

Just as he was about to put the final book on the shelf, Kevin walked in, calling out a greeting.

“Hey, Jug,” he said cheerfully, unshouldering his backpack and track bag. Surprise flitted across his handsome features when he saw his boyfriend by the bookshelf. “Wow! You did some redecorating, huh?”

“Thought you could use some help.” Jughead shrugged, trying to keep his tone casual, but his mouth was suddenly dry. “I mean, you’ve moved to Riverdale permanently now, so I thought your room should show it.” He nervously drummed his fingers on the book he was holding, and a quick glance downward revealed that it was the book on motorcycles, the one Joaquin had gifted to Kevin back when they were dating.

Kevin stepped forward and took the book from Jughead, placing it on the shelf and leaving it there.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “For putting everything where it belongs.” He met Jughead’s gaze readily. “I’m glad to be here in Riverdale with you, Jug.”

“And I’m glad that this is the place where you ended up,” Jughead replied, smiling. “It’s kind of weird to think you’ve lived all around the world, but the place you came to stay for good was my town. It’s great that it happened, though.”

“It’s the greatest,” Kevin agreed. “And so are you.” He leaned in and gave Jughead a light kiss on the cheek, sending a thrill zipping through Jughead.

Jughead grinned at him. “And right now, the place where you belong is at the elementary school, ruling over the carnival arrangements with an iron fist. Want to get going?”

“We just have to grab the supplies from the garage,” Kevin told him, leading him out the bedroom door.

On the way down the stairs, Jughead reached for Kevin’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Tossing him a sunny smile over his shoulder, Kevin did not hesitate to squeeze back.


End file.
